MY TURN: Israel held to unfair double standard

Richard Friedman is executive director of the Birmingham Jewish Federation.

Published: Friday, June 13, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, June 13, 2014 at 8:13 p.m.

One thing that irks Israel and its supporters abroad is the double standard that shapes criticism of the Jewish state.

Like the U.S., Israel is not perfect. However, there are many countries that have abysmal human rights records. Unfortunately, critics of Israel, who seem to pick at every one of its actions, often overlook these other countries and regimes.

It is this double standard that is fueling growing anti-Israel movements, such as the current Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions initiative. The Birmingham Jewish Federation, through our daily online newsletter and other venues, continues to call attention to this hypocrisy and respond to it. The diminishment of Israel, our country’s best friend in the Middle East and the region’s only true democracy, is not good for America.

The disparity between Israel and other regimes and countries, and how these so-called human rights movements ignore other transgressions, came into sharp focus recently via a story posted on the Times of Israel website.

“A Palestinian university lecturer who led a delegation of Palestinians to the Auschwitz concentration camp has resigned, reportedly following weeks of pressure and threats,” the story reported. “Al-Quds University Professor Mohammed Dajani had served as head of the university’s Department of American Studies and the director of its brand-new library. But on May 18, less than two months after the Auschwitz trip, Dajani resigned, telling the Israeli daily Haaretz that he believed he had ‘no choice’ but to do so after the university gave in to fellow faculty members’ ‘incitement’ against him, refused to support him publicly and expelled him from the staff union, to which he said he never belonged.”

“In March, Dajani led a delegation of 30 Palestinian students to Auschwitz-Birkenau, in what was said to be the first organized visit by Palestinian students to a concentration camp. The delegation, which also spent several days in Krakow, was guided by two Jewish Holocaust survivors. Dajani was praised in Israel and the West for taking the trip to the former Nazi death camp in Poland, but was condemned by Palestinians, who called him a traitor,” the story added.

What makes this all the more galling is that the American Studies Association, which recently became the first U.S. professional organization of university academics to endorse a boycott of Israel, has not, as of this writing, uttered a public peep regarding this matter, despite the incident being a clear attack on academic freedom and the undermining of an initiative to advance understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Birmingham Jewish Federation has sent an email to the American Studies Association, asking why it has not spoken out regarding this situation, especially given the fact that Professor Dajani served as head of his university’s American Studies department. As of this writing, no response has been received.

The student trip to Auschwitz came as part of a joint program on Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution with two other universities: Germany’s Friedrich Schiller University and Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

“While the Palestinian group visited a Nazi concentration camp, the Israeli group visited a Palestinian refugee camp south of Bethlehem,” the news report added. “In the Palestinian academic community, the unprecedented visit was seen as a collaboration with an Israeli university and harshly criticized.”

Dajani, according to the report, said the smear campaign against him, followed by the university’s acceptance of his resignation, exposed “the double-talk” within Palestinian society when it comes to freedom of speech and academic freedom.

Not only did it do that, it further exposed the hypocrisy of those who defame Israel at every turn.

<p>One thing that irks Israel and its supporters abroad is the double standard that shapes criticism of the Jewish state. </p><p>Like the U.S., Israel is not perfect. However, there are many countries that have abysmal human rights records. Unfortunately, critics of Israel, who seem to pick at every one of its actions, often overlook these other countries and regimes. </p><p>It is this double standard that is fueling growing anti-Israel movements, such as the current Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions initiative. The Birmingham Jewish Federation, through our daily online newsletter and other venues, continues to call attention to this hypocrisy and respond to it. The diminishment of Israel, our country's best friend in the Middle East and the region's only true democracy, is not good for America.</p><p>The disparity between Israel and other regimes and countries, and how these so-called human rights movements ignore other transgressions, came into sharp focus recently via a story posted on the Times of Israel website.</p><p>“A Palestinian university lecturer who led a delegation of Palestinians to the Auschwitz concentration camp has resigned, reportedly following weeks of pressure and threats,” the story reported. “Al-Quds University Professor Mohammed Dajani had served as head of the university's Department of American Studies and the director of its brand-new library. But on May 18, less than two months after the Auschwitz trip, Dajani resigned, telling the Israeli daily Haaretz that he believed he had 'no choice' but to do so after the university gave in to fellow faculty members' 'incitement' against him, refused to support him publicly and expelled him from the staff union, to which he said he never belonged.” </p><p>“In March, Dajani led a delegation of 30 Palestinian students to Auschwitz-Birkenau, in what was said to be the first organized visit by Palestinian students to a concentration camp. The delegation, which also spent several days in Krakow, was guided by two Jewish Holocaust survivors. Dajani was praised in Israel and the West for taking the trip to the former Nazi death camp in Poland, but was condemned by Palestinians, who called him a traitor,” the story added. </p><p>What makes this all the more galling is that the American Studies Association, which recently became the first U.S. professional organization of university academics to endorse a boycott of Israel, has not, as of this writing, uttered a public peep regarding this matter, despite the incident being a clear attack on academic freedom and the undermining of an initiative to advance understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.</p><p>The Birmingham Jewish Federation has sent an email to the American Studies Association, asking why it has not spoken out regarding this situation, especially given the fact that Professor Dajani served as head of his university's American Studies department. As of this writing, no response has been received.</p><p>The student trip to Auschwitz came as part of a joint program on Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution with two other universities: Germany's Friedrich Schiller University and Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. </p><p>“While the Palestinian group visited a Nazi concentration camp, the Israeli group visited a Palestinian refugee camp south of Bethlehem,” the news report added. “In the Palestinian academic community, the unprecedented visit was seen as a collaboration with an Israeli university and harshly criticized.” </p><p>Dajani, according to the report, said the smear campaign against him, followed by the university's acceptance of his resignation, exposed “the double-talk” within Palestinian society when it comes to freedom of speech and academic freedom. </p><p>Not only did it do that, it further exposed the hypocrisy of those who defame Israel at every turn.</p>